What if the Netherlands used FPTP?

Examining the difference in election outcome between FPTP and D’Hondt (proportional representation).

Thomas Zwagerman https://example.com/norajones (Centre for Ecology & Hydrology)https://example.com/spacelysprokets
03-24-2021

In this short article I am exploring what the Dutch political landscape would look like if it operated under a first-past-the-post (FPTP) system.

The election data for the Netherlands was downloaded from the Kiesraad.

Results Tweede Kamer Verkiezing 2017

These are the 2017 results summarised:

party votes seats percentage
VVD 2238351 33 21.6
PVV 1372941 20 13.2
CDA 1305217 19 12.6
D66 1288794 19 12.4
GROENLINKS 960685 14 9.3
SP 955633 14 9.2
PvdA 599692 9 5.8
ChristenUnie 356376 5 3.4
PvdD 335511 5 3.2
Partij 50PLUS 327494 4 3.2
DENK 216241 3 2.1
SGP 218978 3 2.1
FvD 187388 2 1.8

Let’s start with examining the composition of the Tweede Kamer - under a proportional representation (D’Hondt) system. This is what the Tweede Kamer looks like currently:

Now let’s have a look at what it would look like under First-past-the-Post (FPTP), with one MP elected per Gemeente.

Now, there are a couple of obvious differences:

But also some obvious caveats:

Election results on a map

We can also show these results on a map - this in an interactive map which allows you to explore the individual election results for each Gemeente.